Rough Hands, And A Kiss Perfected
by Cornered Scream
Summary: During the trip back to the Fire Nation, Mai pushes Zuko too far with her thoughtless comments and shocking actions.  Fed up, Zuko decides a bit of an attitude adjustment is needed.  Warning: Contains a discipline spanking.  Story does NOT contain sex!


A/N: I've posted this story before, but found something I wanted to change, so I did and have reposted it now. Just to let everyone know!

This story begins during the scene in which Mai kisses Zuko in _The Awakening. _After reading the comic about these two in the all Avatar magazine, where Mai encouraged Jin to throw that shard of ice at Zuko's head, nearly earning him a hole in the head that he did not need, and then causing him to fall into the fountain, I was annoyed with Mai for doing such a thing. Zuko was too at first. And then, in _The Awakening_, hearing Mai's thoughtless comment of, "I didn't ask for your whole life story," when Zuko tried to open up to her just pissed me off more. You could tell it didn't make Zuko very happy either. Personally I thought that Mai, like many other girls in Avatar, needed a spanking, and so I made sure she got one. So yes, to be clear, Zuko does spank Mai in this story. Please know, however, that this is not a very severe thing. There's not even a bare arse in the story. And as I said before, there is no sex in this story at all, anywhere.

Okay, let me just say this now. If you don't like spanking stories, and you think they are horrible, then please do not read this. There's no point in reading this if you hate this kind of story. However, if you do decide to read it, please try to avoid making yourself look silly by complaining how much you hate this kind of story in a review. It's just amusing when people do this. Also, if you don't like Maiko, and you don't like reading about Zuko and Mai kissing, then don't read this, as they do kiss in this story as well. I wasn't going to take that out simply because some people don't like reading about Maiko kisses. I wanted the kiss in the story, and so I wrote it. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Anyway, I wanted to explain just a few more things. In this story I have gone with the theory that Zuko was thirteen when he was scarred and banished, and Mai was twelve. I have also decided that Tom-Tom was two years old when he appeared in _Return to Omashu_. If you read my story, you will understand what I'm talking about.

I guess that's it for now. Oh yes, if you see any typing errors as you read, please forgive me. I read through this story many times, and hopefully I caught any mistakes I made, but you never know! Oh, I ask that you please, please not flame me. It's not nice, and you wouldn't want to be the next person to be spanked by Zuko, now would you? ;-)

* * *

Gently Mai pulled away, but her kiss lingered on his lips. Smiling slightly, she walked away, leaving him on his own. His emotions in a mess, Zuko turned back to the dark, calm sea, but only for a moment did it claim his attention. His eyes sought and found Mai again as she walked towards the hatch that led below deck. She really _had_ changed since he last saw her. In attitude, and in appearance. Gone was the gangly little twelve year old that had had a crush on him for years. Now she was tall and slender, graceful and elegant. Her eyes were still beautifully shaped, and her hair glistened like a dark jewel. The only thing that hadn't changed was her crush on him. Or so he thought. However, many times lately he wondered if she really did like him, for her attitude had confused him these last three weeks. Her tone was dry, not so unusual for her really, but her words and actions sometimes caused him to frown. Such as the words she had spoken to him only minutes ago.

"I just asked if you were cold. I didn't ask for your life story." That statement had annoyed him, and recalling her words just added to his annoyance. He had been about to express his displeasure with her words, but then she had thrown her arms around him, advised him not to worry so much, and had kissed him. The kiss and touch had been full of affection. He could not deny that. But her words before that had not really put him in the mood to respond to her kiss, and so he hadn't. He had thought he had felt her body tense when she realized he was not kissing her back, but he couldn't be sure. And she hadn't acted any different before she left. But with Mai, that didn't mean anything.

He sighed, now feeling slightly guilty about not returning her kiss. But the possible rejection he might face once he returned home had his full attention again, and he glared out at the water that was so calm, mocking him and the turmoil that his emotions were in. Despite Mai's advice, he was worried.

He had much to worry about, after all. And many things to feel guilty over. Mai did not seem to realize this fully, and at times it seemed she didn't even care. It was funny that she would advise him not to worry so much, when in fact she wasn't doing a whole lot to help him not worry.

Besides the uncaring comment she had just made, there were other things she had done that had annoyed him. Or to be more honest, made him flat out furious. Such as putting a dead fish on his head and then placing a shard of ice in the hands of an inexperienced person and basically encouraging that person to drill a hole in his head. And Jin _would_ have drilled a hole in his head had he not ducked. But he did, thankfully, and then in doing so had fallen backwards into that fountain.

The whole situation really had not pleased him too much. But it apparently pleased Mai, who had found it entirely too funny for his liking. He had been ready to give her a good telling off for her actions, but the sight of her smile and the sound of her laughter had snuffed out his anger pretty quick. He had not seen her smile like that in three years, and her laughter had been absent even longer than that. The sight and sound had been soothing to his soul, and so at that point he couldn't bring himself to scold her. He couldn't help but be happy that she was having fun. Even if his discomfort was the source of her fun. Her beauty was so enhanced by her smile, and that beauty had chased his anger away.

But now her thoughtless comment had brought that anger back. Zuko frowned as he gazed back out at the inky darkness that surrounded him. He truly did care for Mai. More than he first realized. But sometimes her behavior irked him. He didn't need anyone else aggravating him. Azula did a fine job on her own. He didn't need another brat in his life. But he didn't know what to do about it, and this really wasn't the time to think on it. There was already so much on his mind. Too much. Perhaps he could take Mai's advice, and not worry so much. For a little while, that is. Possibly, if he was lucky, he could find some relief in sleep, which he needed badly. Or at least he needed to _try_ to get some.

After one last look at the quiet water, Zuko went to his room, where he sat down on the bed and stayed there, staring at the floor as he fought to relax himself for sleep. This pointless attempt was interrupted by a loud knock on the door, and he looked up, his gold eyes flashing. It was probably Azula. He considered not answering; allowing his sister to believe the room was empty. But even if she thought that it was empty she'd fling the door open anyway and check. That was the way Azula was. He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, furious at the thought of another argument with his younger sister. As he sat there and debated, the person outside the door persisted and knocked again, sending his temper up several notches.

"WHAT?!" he bellowed towards the door, his hands clenching into fists. There was a slight pause, and then the door slowly opened. Mai popped her head in, her eyes a bit wide and her lips twisted in a grimace.

"If you didn't want company you could have just said so," she told him, her dry tone carrying a note of displeasure. "You didn't have to bellow like a dying Platypus bear."

Though Zuko was relieved that his visitor was not Azula, his temper only died down a tad, and he did not offer any apologies for "bellowing like a dying Platypus bear." He studied Mai, his face hard and his eyes a bit stern. None of this was lost on her, and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked in a kind of yawning voice that was irritating.

He was quiet for a moment, then spoke, though he did not answer her question. "It's late," he growled at her. "Why aren't you in bed?"

Her eyes narrowed a bit and her lips twisted once more, and then she wrinkled her nose. Zuko watched as she tilted her head to the right, which caused the light from the candles in his room to reflect in her eyes, highlighting the pale gold orbs.

"Gosh, _**dad**_," she replied, putting great stress on the word "dad". Her usual dry, emotionless tone was so full of annoyance and sarcasm that, despite his aggravation, Zuko almost smiled. "I didn't know I had a curfew. I'll have to remember that." As she spoke she stepped into the room and closed the door quietly, and with a sulky look on her face she walked over to Zuko and sat down beside him. The fact that he was in a bit of a foul mood did not seem to matter to her. He studied her for a moment, then sighed and looked away, folding his arms across his chest as he did.

"I thought you _had_ gone to bed," he said, after several moments of silence had gone by.

"I did," she replied.

He waited for her to add more, but when she didn't, he spoke. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No," was the only response he got.

"Why not? Wait, let me guess," he added quickly before she could answer. "You were bored."

The corners of her mouth turned up just a little. "How did you know?"

He snorted softly. "Lucky guess," he told her, his own tone dry now. She looked at him, and he noticed how her whole face lit up when she did. Sometimes it amazed him how much she liked him. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and he was the first to look away, while she kept her eyes on him. She was on the opposite side of his scarred eye, and she studied his smooth profile for the longest time. He sat there and said nothing, only shifting position once and dropping his hands into his lap.

This motion brought her attention to his hands, and now she studied those. After a few minutes she reached over and placed her left hand on his right one, running the tips of her fingers over his knuckles and the back of his hand. As she did a frown creased her brow, and carefully she turned his hand over and ran her fingertips over his palm. She drew a circle on his skin with her finger, and then rubbed it lightly with the pad of her thumb.

She then touched the tips of his fingers, one at a time, and then suddenly leaned over and grasped his other hand. She pulled it closer to her and examined it the same way she had the other one. The whole time Zuko watched, confused but fascinated. After a few more minutes of intense studying, she finally let go of his hands and looked up at him. He blinked down at her in surprise, for he could have sworn he saw an unusual sadness in her eyes.

"Your hands are rough," she told him. Her voice was calm but quiet. "A lot rougher than I remember."

He gazed down at her, and as he did a few memories flashed through his mind. The harsh conditions of being at sea for most of his three years of banishment, the constant fighting and searching he did, and the later life of a refugee with nothing to call his own. All of those things could toughen up a person in many ways.

"The last three years have been hard," he told her, his voice a bit strained.

She watched his eyes carefully. "I know," she replied, and there was no mistaking the sadness in her voice now, nor the loneliness. These feelings were etched in the lines of her face as well, but only briefly. She blinked, and then, seeming to realize how much emotion she was showing, shook her head and smirked, which chased away the dark shadows that had seemed to fall on her. She was back to her dry, sarcastic self.

"I mean, life was so boring without you around to throw mud at," she added with a sigh, causing Zuko to frown at her. She didn't notice. "I couldn't throw it at Azula because she was the princess, and I'd get in trouble. I never got in trouble when I did it to you. Of course that could be because you were usually off by yourself, so no one saw me do it. That was always helpful. But when you left there was no one around to do that to. I tried throwing it at Ty Lee once, but all she did was cry, and that was no fun." Mai rolled her eyes as she remembered that one time she had thrown mud in the face of her friend.

She had been twelve years old, and Zuko had been gone for several months. She didn't know what had caused her to do what she did in the first place. She imagined it was a mixture of being upset over what had happened to Zuko, and not having him there, as well as the fact that her mother had been pregnant with Tom-Tom at that time. For Mai, who had been the only child for many years, this had been quite a surprise, and a very unwelcome one at that. She had not wanted to share her parents with another child. Especially at that point, when she was hurting so badly over Zuko's banishment. She wanted and needed all the attention that she could get, but she just wasn't getting it.

All of this, combined with the fact that Ty Lee seemed to be more annoying than usual that day, had caused Mai to snap, and she had hurled a great mud ball at her friend. It had splattered all over her face, and the usual smiling girl had instantly burst into tears, taking Mai, and even Azula, by surprise. Neither had ever seen Ty Lee cry before. Mai remembered her standing there and glaring at her as the tears slid down her face, leaving muddy trails in their wake.

"Ever since Zuko left you've been nothing but mean, Mai," she had wailed before running off. Guilt had flooded Mai as she watched her friend leave, while beside her Azula just snickered.

"She'll get over it," the princess sniffed. "Come on, let's go throw rocks at the turtleducks!" Mai had followed, still feeling bad and vowing to herself not to ever make her friend cry again. Thankfully Ty Lee had forgiven her, and Mai kept the promise she had made to herself and had never made her cry since then.

As Zuko watched her, Mai shook her head, ridding herself of the memory. "Ty Lee took the fun out of picking on her," she said as she reached up and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "At least I got a better reaction out of you whenever I did things like that."

Zuko gave her a strange look. "I always got mad at you," he reminded her. "How is that a better reaction?"

She shrugged. "It was funny," she said simply. "And besides, you were always so cute when you were mad," she added, with what could only be described as a naughty smirk. "It wasn't funny when I did it to Ty Lee. She couldn't handle the mud, so I couldn't throw it at her anymore."

"Well she should have considered herself lucky," Zuko grumbled. "At least you didn't try to get someone to drill a hole in her head," he added, and as he spoke his frown increased, and his golden eyes turned a shade darker.

Mai glanced at him, confused for a moment, and then she sighed. "Are you talking about what happened in Ba Sing Se with that Jin girl?" she asked, sounding very unconcerned, which did not help Zuko's mood any.

He gave her a sharp look. "Yes," he snapped. "I am."

Mai sighed again and rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you're still mad about that. Get over it already."

Now Zuko's face grew dark. "Get over it?" he repeated, his fury now evident in each word he spoke, and in the harsh look he was giving Mai. "I could have been killed!"

"Yeah, that's what you said when it happened," she reminded him, now sounding not only unconcerned, but bored as well. "If you're going to keep whining about it, you could at least do it differently. Saying the same thing over and over is so boring." Mai noticed how the anger in Zuko's face increased at these words, and she frowned. "Maybe I should throw a sharp object at your head right now myself," she suggested. "It might improve your mood."

Zuko gritted his teeth and his eyes flashed, the color now resembling molten gold. The girl was pushing him far too much, and his next words proved it. "And maybe you'd like to find out just how rough my hands really are!" At these words he thought he saw her pretty eyes fill with alarm, and he couldn't help but feel a little bit satisfied by that.

Her eyes narrowed and her body now tense, Mai stood quickly and moved away from him. The distance, however short, made her feel safe. Which was stupid really, considering she knew how fast Zuko could move. But she could move pretty fast herself, so she wasn't too worried. Not much longer from now she would find that she should have been.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked him in response to his startling suggestion. "Never mind," she added before he could reply. "I think I do need to throw something at your head."

Without batting an eyelash she slung one arm forward, and three small arrows flew from her sleeve and directly towards Zuko's head, who proved his reflexes had not dulled any as he easily avoided the flying weapons. They hurtled passed him, and though he had moved well he did note that the third arrow came a little closer to his nose than he liked. He watched as the things slammed into the metal wall behind him, where they bounced off it and landed on the bare floor with the clinking sound of metal hitting metal. As they completed their fall his head whipped around towards Mai, just in time to see her sending thee more his way.

He leapt off the bed and landed a few feet away from it, his feet touching quietly on the metal floor. The arrows she had thrown weren't so quiet, and they clinked and clanked as they hit the wall and then the floor, joining the other three that were lying there. Before he could speak more came bolting towards him, and he dodged them all, moving across the room as he did until he found himself standing by the small table that held his broad swords. Instinctively he reached for them, not with the intention of attacking Mai of course, but to merely aid him in defending himself.

He turned, swords in hand, just in time to block another wave of sharp metal slung at him by the young woman he loved. She was unmerciful, and Zuko backed further away from her so he could knock arrows, and now small knives, away from him without the danger of sending any of them back at her. But distance alone could not help him achieve that, and when he struck the knives with the swords he had to do it at a certain angle, so that when they bounced off the swords they would either fly off to his left or right, or landed close to him once they fell.

Doing it this way required get concentration, which at times were hard since he had so many small weapons flying at him with such great speed. He managed it though, due to skill and a strong determination. But with each arrow or knife that came his way his temper went up about five more notches, something he was sure was obvious in his face and eyes. But if Mai noticed she didn't seem to care. She just kept on throwing everything she had at him from the spring-loaded holsters that she had on both her wrists and her ankles, and as she did, if her expression was anything to go by, she was enjoying herself. A bit too much. But this time her enjoyment did not chase away his anger. It only increased it.

With his temper near the breaking point, Zuko slashed viciously with the broad swords as two knives, close together, were hurtled towards his chest. They bounced off the swords and landed at his feet, where a pile of small, gleaming weapons had come to rest. Mai showed no signs of letting up, and he knew that would have to stop soon.

"Enough, Mai!" he snapped at her when a knife whistled passed his ear, dangerously close. Her eyes flashed and she stepped forward, throwing another knife, but this time with more force and speed than before, which he didn't think was possible. It was. It tore through the air like some sort of demented, deadly bug, and Zuko was unable to block it with his swords. He dodged it though, but not completely. The sharp weapon sliced opened his shirt at the shoulder, and came close enough to graze his skin as it passed by. An intense, burning pain radiated from the growing mark on his shoulder, and he stood there, in a bit of shock as the knife struck the wall hard behind him and clattered to the floor. The sound seemed to echo off the walls, and as the noise faded away he noticed that Mai had finally stopped her attack.

She was standing there with her mouth hanging slightly open, her eyes wider than he had seen them in a long time, as she stared at his shoulder. Breathing hard and trying to get his temper under control, he looked down at his shoulder as well. Seeing the hole it had ripped in his shirt did not help in calming him of course, but the sight of the wide, angry red welt on his skin where the knife had grazed him destroyed any hope of him calming down real soon. The skin wasn't broken, but judging by the dark red color, and the fact that it was already starting to turn into an ugly bruise, it had come very close to cutting him.

Zuko stood there staring at the mark for a few more seconds, then slowly raised his eyes to look at Mai. The glare he gave her would have caused the sun to explode. She opened her mouth, ready to speak, but she never got the chance. Dropping his swords, Zuko practically lunged at her. Within seconds he had closed the short distance between them. Mai had no time to react, and even if she had, she didn't know if she would have been able to do anything because she was so shocked at how fast he moved. One strong, and indeed very rough, hand closed down on her upper arm, and with a purposeful stride and a determined look on his face he marched her over to the bed. He sat down, and then without any hesitation at all, and much to Mai's disbelief and horror, pulled her face down across his lap.

In the midst of this shocking scene, and despite the intensity of the one that had just occurred, the only thing Mai could think to say at that moment was, "Gee, this is just _**so **_comfortable," in the driest, most sarcastic tone she could muster. Zuko was holding both of her wrists in his left hand, firmly but not painfully, preventing her from shooting out any more knives or arrows that her arsenal was made of. Then in one swift movement he reached down and lifted the hem of her robe up a bit, and removed the weapons that were loaded in the hidden holsters strapped to her ankles. Then, deciding not to take any other chances, he pulled her sleeves up and emptied the holsters she had there on her wrists of the remaining weapons. The whole time he kept a firm grip on her slender hands.

All during this Mai didn't say a word, and didn't even try to stop him. She was too shocked to. But all too soon her mind began to clear itself of the confusion and shock, and as it did she could feel the blush starting in her cheeks and spreading to her neck. A great anger filled her as she glared at the floor, which she had a great view of, as well as one side of his leg, and her mind worked quickly, trying to think of the best way to attack him. But before she could decide anything however, a loud cracking sound filled the room, and then a sharp, stinging pain exploded across her bottom. Her eyes went so wide it felt like they were going to pop right out.

"Hey!" she cried out, annoyed at the shocked and slightly panicked note in her voice. "Hold old do you think I am? Five?"

"No," Zuko replied quietly, though his voice was thick with anger. His hand cracked down again, and the pain was more intense this time.

Feeling rather stubborn, Mai fought back a gasp. "Then you need to stop and let me up."

"No," he repeated, his tone firm. He had made a decision, and there would be no changing his mind. Mai knew once he got his mind set on something he was determined to see it through, and she was very aware that that could, and probably would, end up being a bad thing for her. Still, she wasn't going to make it easy for him! Gritting her teeth, feeling just as determined as he was, she tried to pull her hands free, but his hold on her was near unbreakable, so she tried to bite his hand instead. However, just as she was about to sink her teeth into his skin, he hauled off and smacked her across her rear so hard she could not hold back the gasp the pain brought about. It almost felt like he had heated his hand up a little with Firebending for that smack. She was pretty sure he hadn't, but the pain was so bad it seemed like it. For the first time in many, many years tears filled her eyes, and their presence made her furious. She struggled against him, hard, but he tightened his grip, proving that in the past three years he had developed a lot of capable muscles.

"If you try to bite me again, I'll put a gag you," Zuko warned, his voice as hard as steel and laced with ice.

She stopped, shocked at his words. Obviously she had really pushed him to his limits, and the sensible side of her told her she shouldn't push him anymore, but the stubborn, angry side of her killed that idea quickly. "You know I'm going to kick your butt as soon as you let me go," she told him, surprised and pleased to hear that her voice had gone back to its usual dry, emotionless state.

"You can try," he replied simply, and smacked her again, even harder. He felt her body tense and heard her inhale sharply, and he was glad he had gotten her attention so well. "This is for what you did back at Ba Sing Se," he informed her, and another sound blow caught her by surprise, and the cracking sound seemed to echo off the walls. "And this is for what you said up on deck." She gritted her teeth, knowing another smack was coming. It did, and it came down hard and swift, and was followed by four more just like, all in a row. She jerked in response, and would have fallen off his lap had he not been holding her still. "But most of all, this is for attacking me just now."

Having said that, Zuko delivered five rather devastating blows that caused Mai to desperately try and push her way off his lap. But, as she had already learned, he was stronger than she was, which didn't sit well, and she failed miserably in this attempt. Unfortunately that attempt aggravated Zuko enough to launch fully into the punishment he was dishing out, and soon he was delivering smack after smack, unrelenting in his quest to make sure she didn't sit comfortably for quite a while.

Mai had initially thought that the robe she was wearing would absorb most of the blows, for it wasn't very thin, but now it seemed as if she was wearing nothing but silk as Zuko's hand came crashing down. That hand was heavy, and indeed as rough as she first thought, and the pain in her backside was building up to such a terrible burning sting that it felt as though he had set fire to the seat of her robe. She could not believe that something like this could hurt so much! But she fought back every cry that waned to escape her lips, though just barely, and struggled as much as she could. But no matter what she did she was never able to avoid the fiery hand of the enraged Zuko.

As the horrible ordeal continued, Mai felt her cheeks burn red. Not only was this very painful, but it was completely embarrassing as well. Here she was, a fifteen year old, very capable fighter being...being…_spanked_ by her sixteen year old boyfriend! Her parents hadn't even done this to her as a child. It was stupid and mortifying and she was finding it hard to believe she couldn't escape the situation. But the only thing her struggles got her were harder smacks, and eventually she stopped struggling, hoping he'd ease up a little, but it was not to be. She had gone too far in throwing her knives at him, and actually catching him slightly on the arm. He was going to make sure she was sorry she did it. He was definitely starting to succeed.

The pain increased, and by now more than a few tears had fallen from her eyes. She bit down on her lower lip, fighting back the great urge to beg him to stop. She was _not_ going to beg him to stop! But, she realized, if he didn't stop soon, she feared she would be reduced to begging him for mercy, for the pain was only getting worse with each smack he gave her.

Mai clenched her hands into fists as another smack landed, and then another. Her wrists felt small and fragile in Zuko's big hand, which, she noticed, seemed to be very warm at the moment. Actually, hot was a better word. About as hot as her backside was. Which was pretty hot. She couldn't imagine it getting any worse. She was proved wrong a second later when a particularly harsh blow fell across her heated rear, and she closed her eyes and bit down harder on her lip.

As he went on, little gasps of pain began to pop out of her mouth, and there seemed to be nothing she could do to stop them. She was getting frantic, and she hated it but could not fight it. It was amazing, and so wrong, that something like this could affect her so. Almost nothing else had ever been able to penetrate the tough, indifferent shell she had placed around herself, especially in the last three years, but something as ridiculous as a spanking had brought her to tears and was making her long for nothing more than to have it stop. But sadly Zuko was showing no signs of mercy. Which was fitting, since she had shown him no mercy when flinging her different assortment of sharp weapons at him. How she hated payback. Especially when it hurt this much.

And especially when it kept going on. Mai bit back what was going to be a very loud yelp, and then, just as she was about to actually beg him to stop, he did. As some of the tension left her body he let go of her wrists, and immediately she scrambled off his lap and backed away from him, her face a bright red. She stared at him as she tried to wipe the tears from her face, but they were replaced by more as they fell from her eyes and down her cheeks. No one had seen her cry in so long, and it was beyond embarrassing.

Seconds later though, anger replaced embarrassment, and her body slid into a fighting stance, ready to throw more of her knives at him. But then she remembered that she had no more knives on her. She fixed this problem quickly by stooping and picking up one that was right by her foot, though her brain was screaming at her not to be so foolish. She ignored common sense and was just about to chuck the knife at him when Zuko spoke. His words made her freeze instantly.

"If you throw that knife at me, I'll do what I just did again," he warned her, his tone deadly quiet as he gazed up at her. "And if I have to do that Mai, there won't be anything between you and my hand this time." She blinked and cringed inwardly as she felt her cheeks burn even hotter than before. She stood still, watching him carefully. He was sitting there with his left arm draped over one leg, and his other hand resting on his right knee. He was leaning forward just a bit, ready to lunge if he had to, and as he looked up at her his golden eyes burned brightly from what was still potent fury, and she did not doubt his words at all.

She stayed where she was, not moving a muscle as she breathed heavily, her foolish pride trying to tell her that she could overpower him if she tried hard enough. She was smart enough to recognize this as foolish pride though, and had to reluctantly admit to herself that she could not win against him. She had been unable to before, and she would be unable to now. Not when he was this determined. But, attacking him again might be worth it. Just for the pure satisfaction of it. The look on his face would be priceless. The thought almost made her smile, but the look on his face kept her lips in a straight line.

She eyed him, still wondering if attacking him would indeed be worth it, but the fire that had been set in her backside convinced her that it wasn't, and if that wasn't enough, the memory of his threat sealed the deal for her. He had stated that if he had to do it again, there would be nothing between her and his hand this time. She was certainly not going to let that happen, and so slowly she relaxed her body and dropped the knife on the floor. As soon as she had Zuko stood, keeping his eyes on her. They stared at each other for several moments, and he could see how jumbled her feelings were. Anger, pain, mortification, shock. She had it all. But he really didn't feel too sorry for her at that moment, and the sting in his own arm reminded him why. He looked down at the tear in his shirt, and at the red welt that was still there, then back up at her.

"Don't ever do that again, Mai," he said quietly, and before she could reply he leaned down and picked up the weapon holsters he had stripped her of earlier, and tossed them at her. She caught them easily and then stared at him, but he said nothing as he began to gather up the many deadly weapons that littered the floor. She watched, still not moving

"Come on, put those back on," he told her, gesturing at the holsters she held. "I don't want these lying on the floor all night." He studied her for a moment when she just stared, and then sighed and went back to picking up the knives and arrows, which he placed on the bed. With her eyes still wide and a few of those horrible, betraying tears still falling, Mai silently strapped the holsters back on her wrists and ankles, and then began to load them up with the weapons Zuko had piled on the bed. It took several minutes to get the weapons back where they belonged, but once she had done so, the urge to take them out again and sling them at her hot tempered boyfriend was strong. But once again the fire in her backside reminded her of how foolish she was still being, and after a great fight with herself, she was able to refrain.

Zuko watched her struggle inwardly with her desire to attack him once more, and he watched with interest as she silently opted not to cross him again. He didn't comment on either of these things though. Instead he merely stepped forward and took her arm, gently this time.

"It's time for bed," he told her, tugging her towards the door. "Come on. I'll walk you to your room." For a long moment she didn't move. She just stood there staring at the floor, and then finally she lifted her face. Her pale gold eyes met his gold ones, which she saw were still flashing a little as his temper slowly cooled down. She wanted to tell him she could get to her room on her own, and to just leave her alone…but she found she could not, and she didn't understand why.

But with her mind so crowded, and now so tired, she didn't want to think on that much at the moment, so without a word or act of protest she allowed him to lead her silently out of his bedroom and down the hall, which thankfully was deserted. She remained quiet as they walked, mainly because she was still in too much shock to form a lot of words.

When they reached her bedroom he opened the door for her, and finally let go of her arm. He expected her to retreat into the room the moment he released her, but to his surprise she stayed where she was, staring off into space. And then suddenly she turned to him, and he saw the anger clouding her eyes once more. That was followed by some embarrassment, and then…something else. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. He decided to concentrate on the anger though, as that was the easiest thing for him to understand and deal with right now.

"I'm not sorry I did it," Zuko told her. His firm voice let her know he meant every word. "I still care for you, but you're not going to make a habit of attacking me." She blinked once and then glared at him. Her mouth flew open, ready to tell him off, but suddenly he grabbed her by the shoulders and jerked her to him. He covered her mouth with his own, and standing there in the doorway, on a cold Fire Nation ship headed towards home, he kissed her more passionately then he had ever kissed her before.

For the first few seconds she didn't respond, either too shocked or still too mad at him, but finally he felt her resistance melt away in a way only he seemed able to bring about. She kissed him back, just as fiercely, and when they finally parted she seemed to be in a daze from their kiss. Zuko smiled at her and then turned her around and gently pushed her inside the room. He said good-night, and then, with one last meaningful look, closed the door. She listened to him walking away until his footsteps could no longer be heard, and then she turned and slowly glided towards her bed, her emotions nothing short of chaotic. She got ready for bed and crawled in, only to find that lying on her stomach was a very necessary thing due to the fact that her backside was still burning like mad. She rolled over and laid her cheek on the soft pillow with a sigh, expecting to lie awake for quite a long time. But much to her surprise she soon found herself falling into a drowsy state. Just before she drifted off to sleep though, a thought crossed her mind.

Zuko had shown her that his hands were truly rougher than she remembered, in more ways than one, but he had also shown her how wonderfully his kisses had improved. And in doing that, he had shown her that his hands could be much gentler than she remembered as well. It was that thought that led her into a deep, peaceful sleep as the ship slowly chugged along through the night.


End file.
